...Homelessness Homeless people are seen on the streets very often, especially in big cities. It is seen so often that people do not really take a minute to think about it. Is homelessness really a big issue in America? It does not affect the lives of fortunate people, so it does not matter to them, but the issue is bigger than what it seems. Imagine not having food, shelter, or new clothes to change into every day. What about sitting on the streets all day begging for money or even a bite of food, but instead people walk by not even paying attention? Does not sound found, does it? Well imagine that, but instead it was a child. A child who no longer has a home, family who can afford to take care of them, or any way of getting help. People do...
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...offers permanent, affordable housing as quickly as possible for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. And there were debates regarding this program, "Is Housing First the best approach to ending homelessness?" There are two different views concerning this issue. Nan Roman the President and CEO of National Alliance To End Homelessness, stated on her argument that Housing First (based on research) is the most effective and least costly way to end homelessness for a majority of people. Nan Roman also stated on her argument that this strategy can help people who experience homelessness to quickly obtain housing supported with rentals assistance and services. There were premises that Housing First is based: that homelessness is traumatic and damaging, and that all people benefit from the stability of a home. Based on Nan Roman's argument, The Centers for Disease control and Prevention found that housing is essential to good health and that children do better at school when they have permanent place to stay. Before Roman and her alliance has helped homeless people by giving them temporary place to stay, now Housing First reversed that processed by helping families move back into housing after a short stay in a shelter then providing them with services. Roman said "It worked." She also added that Housing First shortens the time families are homeless by up to 50 percent and does a better job...
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...Flor Payan Prof. Jane Doe ENG 1102 November 17, 2014 Homelessness: Its Roots and Implications Everybody has been in touch with homelessness in America in one way or another. Either by looking at homeless people on the streets while driving home, or in a more unfortunate way, by dealing with it personally or knowing someone who deals with homelessness. It is clear that homelessness is a multifactorial problem, and its ramifications and consequences go beyond the simple fact of not having a home to call our own. Homelessness seems to affect more some segments of the population and some ethnic backgrounds more than others. With such facts, we can ask: what is the origin of homelessness? How someone becomes homeless? What can we do, as a society, to fight homelessness? And more importantly, why the strategies designed to fight homelessness are not working as effectively as expected? Considering the fact that hundreds of thousands of people are homeless and millions more at risk, as moderate estimates tell, the problem is clearly worse than we would like to think. There are clearly understood circumstances that create homelessness in America. Now “it is generally believed that the increase incidence of homelessness in the US has arisen from broad societal factors”, and economist and sociologists have found that homelessness is directly related to “changes in the institutionalization of the mentally ill, increases in drug addiction and alcohol usage, etc” (Quigley and Raphael)...
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...There’s no place like home | | Homelessness started as far as the 1930’s when the stock market crashed causing “The Great Depression”. During this time people lost jobs and their homes. People were devastated at the fact that that they were forced to sell their belongings. Later on in the years homelessness began to increase after the war because the vets couldn’t find jobs and were forced to live on the street because no one would hire them. The reason that there are so many people homeless is because the economy. People can’t find jobs so they have to sell their home and downgrade to a smaller home or apartment. Often there are times when families are broken up because the husband can’t provide for his family and they end up on the streets. The root cause of being homeless can be explained by economics, it’s said that people who become homeless are going through a financial issue and are unable to obtain or maintain their homes. Research shows that 83% of the homeless population experience episodic, transitional, or temporary periods of homelessness. The challenges that people in poverty ridden areas in trying to keep their get a home is the level of the housing cost burden. When housing is 30% or less of monthly income then it is considered to be affordable. Data collected from the US Census Bureau’s 2010 American Community Survey shows that 75% of the households at or below the poverty line are severely housing cost burdened. When your housing accounts for 50% or...
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...Care Permanency: How its Absence Effects Youth Aging out of foster care and the brokenness within the foster care system have long-lasting effects on youth and families. At any given time in the United States, there are about 400,000 kids in care. The foster care system's goal is to unite youth back to their families, find permanent placement, and provide a safe, loving family for them in the meantime. Though there are good intentions, it still fails to fully achieve that, leaving lasting negative effects on its youth. According to the research, foster kids overall end up with much more negative outcomes, as the experience takes a toll on many aspects of their lives and can leave...
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...Jennifer Preus Have you or a loved one recently lost your job? Have you found yourself wondering how you’re going to pay rent or a mortgage payment this month? Have you had to rely on outside sources to help supplement your food and utility expenses? In 2012, over 5.4 million workers left the job market entirely (Folks, 2013) and are now facing housing crises. As the demand for affordable housing continues to grow as adults are unable to find work, many Americans are facing homelessness and have no affordable housing available to them. All across America, more people are finding themselves homeless. Whether in big cities or small urban towns, the homeless rate continues to grow as the inability to pay for affordable housing grows. The number of people paying more than fifty percent (50%) of their income toward rent increased by more than six percent (6%) from 2009 to 2010. The United States Housing and Urban Development (HUD) classify those paying that high of a percentage as “severely housing cost burdened”. In a survey conducted by the Low Income Housing Information Service, more than 17.6 million households with children experience at least one major housing problem, meaning that one out of every two households with children in this country experience an issue with housing (Kaufman, 2013). Per The National Alliance to End Homelessness (2012) the national rate of homelessness was 21 homeless people per 10,000. Nearly four in ten of those homeless are unsheltered, living...
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...the rest were found in unsheltered locations” (Henry, Cortes and Shivji). American author John Grisham wrote “Somewhere for Everyone” a story that depicts that homelessness is more of an inconvenience rather than exploring the underlying issue on how to eradicate the subject on hand. The same can be said about abandoned children. Jessica Valenti clearly explains in “Not Wanting Kids is Entirely...
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...February 8th, 2014 Ms. Angelique Spruill University of Phoenix One often thinks of homelessness as an urban problem. You think of a person, maybe wearing ragged clothing, walking down a street pushing an encumbered shopping cart, and living under the bridge or in a shelter. However, in Kentucky, our homeless have a very different face as our homeless are often living with friends or family or living in places that do not have running water or electricity. A person is considered homeless if they do not have access to safe, affordable and stable places to live. People become homeless for a variety of reasons such as health problems, family conflicts, limited life choices and the lack of a support system are common causes of homelessness. Loss of employment or the lack of affordable housing, are some of the economic factors that play a role in becoming homeless. Individually, the effects of homelessness are extensive and severe as homelessness means more than just a loss of self-esteem they face intensely higher rates of infectious disease, mental health problems, physical disorders, disabilities and premature death. They also face intensified risks of becoming imprisoned or institutionalized. Homelessness also has an intense impact on the community as well, taking an incredible toll on family stability by impeding the ability to find and maintain jobs, hindering the learning process of children who are hungry and disoriented and causing health problems due to stress and exposure...
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...and Locke (1999) stress the need for training in the culture-centered approach to gain, “accurate assessment, meaningful understanding, and appropriate intervention” (p. 11). A variety of factors can affect the understanding of a culturally diverse individual, such as homelessness, sexual harassment, and racism. Through an understanding of those three sociopolitical factors, psychologists and therapists can see the impact of these factors on psychological development, behavior, and distress. As a result, practices may be put in place to help minimize potentially harmful consequences. Homelessness Approximately two and a half million people are homeless and 30-50% of this group consists of families with children (Pedersen & Locke, 1999). According to Pederson and Locke (1999), homeless is defined if an individual meets one of the following criteria: • Inability to secure regular and stable housing • Primary residence is a public or private shelter • Occupying a place not designated for housing (p. 90). The homeless population accounts for 50% African American, 35% White, 12% Hispanic, 2% Native American, and 1% Asian (Almanac of Policy Issues, 2000). Reasons for homelessness can include poverty, unemployment, and the lack of job skills (Pederson & Locke, 1999). Homelessness creates the inability to develop a secure environment in which an individual may return to at the end of each day. Individuals...
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...social services” (Donohoe, 2004). Although it is everyone’s right to have access to those necessities, it is not always the case for many, who for whatever reasons, have no means to afford them. Here in the United States, the current unemployment situation as well as record foreclosures has forced many people to become homeless. “The term homelessness refers to the condition of individuals without a regular dwelling and that term is used to describe people who do not have a home and whom sleep on the street but it is also commonly used to refer to individuals whose primary night-time residence is a homeless shelter, a warming center or another ad hoc type of housing” (NPACH, 2011). The homeless face many problems in day-to-day living and this paper will focus on this group as a vulnerable population will discuss the history of the homeless, the nature of homelessness as a social problem, what issues they experience, their demographic, their common clinical issues, intervention strategies used for this particular group, and finally, what interventions are planned for the future. History of the Homeless Population For years, homelessness has been an ongoing problem in countries around the world, including developed countries like the United States of America. Although many community programs have existed for years, the very first known rescue mission for the homeless was established in 1872 in New York City (NPACH, 2011). By the end of the Civil War, thousands of people were...
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...Homelessness affects more than 3.5 million citizens annually in the United States alone. People become homeless because of the loss of a job, mental or physical disabilities, or they do not have the skills to get a higher paying job. Homelessness is a social problem because of the lack of jobs, the lack of education, and the lack of affordable housing. People may think homelessness is not that big of a problem, and that homeless individuals are just lazy and want attention, but it is a much bigger deal. If the United States could find a way to solve these problems, homelessness would not be as big of an issue. The United States economy is not the best. This nation’s unemployment rate has been rising for quite some time now. Many people have...
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...This project was designed to address the housing needs for homeless/abused women and children and to find what funding is best suited for such a non profit endeavor. This research looks at the different aspects of public funding and private funding of non profits. This research draws upon mostly primarily sources such as interviews, books, articles, case studies. Most research was done on the reason that places women and children in the predicaments to put them in transitional housing and a look at “Ruth’s Place.” The goal for starting Ruth’s Place, a transitional home for women and children’s non-profit organization is to improving the future of women and children in the City of Philadelphia and Tri-State areas. After meeting with Directors of similar programs established in the City of Philadelphia, the goal of this research is to determine the need for another transitional home and the proper funding to create a program that will be effective in the lives of those we service. What is Transitional Housing? Transitional housing, sometimes called second stage housing, is a residency program that includes support services. Usually provided after crisis or homeless shelter, transitional housing is designed as a bridge to self-sufficiency and permanent housing. Residents usually remain from six months to two years, and are typically required to establish goals to work towards economic stability. Viewed along a continuum of services, transitional housing is placed...
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...disabilities; individuals from economically disadvantaged families, including foster children; individuals preparing for nontraditional training and employment; single parents, including single-pregnant women; displaced homemakers; and individuals with other barriers to educational achievement, including individuals with limited English proficiency ("Special Populations", 2014).” Many of the homeless fall into more than one category of Special Populations. The National Healthcare for the Homeless Council (2014) adopts the U .S. Department of Health and Human Services’ definition of what it means to be homeless stating a homeless person is, “ an individual who lacks housing (without regard to whether the individual is a member of a family), including an individual whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility (e.g., shelters) that provides temporary living accommodations, and an individual who is a resident in transitional housing.” Homelessness does not discriminate against age, adults and children are homeless. The most common causes of homelessness is a lack of affordable housing, poverty, unemployment, substance abuse, and mental illness ("Facts And Figures: The Homeless", 2010). As of 2009, one in 50 children in America were homeless, or approximately 1.5 million ("Facts And Figures: The Homeless", 2010). According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, 23 percent of homeless people are reported as chronically homeless ("Facts And...
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...Homeless in Prince William County Introduction and background: Homelessness is one of our nation’s most misunderstood and vexing social problems. Many individuals of all races struggle with the devastating effects of homeless including families with children, single adults, teenagers and the elderly. This is an issue that can be defined as living in unsuitable, unsafe and overcrowded environment. “On a single night in January 2013, there were 610,042 people experiencing homelessness in the United States, including 394,698 people who were homeless in sheltered locations and 215,344 people who were living in unsheltered locations” (Henry & Cortes, 2013). This shows homelessness in American is a crisis, many more individuals become homeless everyday. They struggle moving from place to place, night after night, in constant state of fear and survival. People become homeless for a variety of reasons. Homelessness is primarily an economic problem, and is also affected by a number of political and social factors. Economic factors include the lack of affordable housing, “housing costs have risen steadily across the country, and they have skyrocketed in many areas. Further, the inability to afford housing is concentrated among households with incomes below the poverty level, whose members account for the vast majority of people entering homelessness” (Burt, 2001). The growing gap between wage earnings and the cost of housing leaves millions of families and individuals unable...
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...Abstract This research paper describes how poverty influences the lives of children and adolescents. Poverty is viewed as major environmental influence that impacts the opportunities and life chances of children. Young people growing up in poverty may feel justified in engaging in risky behaviors. The research shows how poverty has an effect on parenting, housing, food, health, mental well being, and education. Despite government programs that help many, the author of this paper views economic inequality as a major cause of the problems facing poverty and our nation. Poverty has a major influence on the day-to-day lives of children. It also places young people at risk for poor outcomes in life. At Risk Youth (McWhirter, McWhirter, McWhirter, & McWhirter, 2013, p. 29-39) discusses the economic trend of poverty as one of the major environmental influences placing young people at risk. When one understands the problems of poverty, one begins to understand the people affected much better. McWhirter et al., (2013) presents several “types” of families that may live in poverty. These include the working poor families, vulnerable and underserved families, young single mother families, and homeless families. One interesting concept that the book discusses is social comparisons. Today poor people are faced with constant reminders of their lack of money. By watching television shows that popularize the lives of “the rich and famous” and by seeing the income earned...
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